Mirajul Islam slammed a brilliant hat-trick as rampant Bangladesh U-17 football team romped to the semi-finals as group champions after thrashing the Maldives 5-0 in their second and last Group A match of the Saff U-17 Championship Wednesday.
Apart from Mirajul's hat-trick, Nazmul Huda Faisal and Murshed Ali netted one each for the boys in red and green, who led the first half 2-0.
Held at Racecourse International Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh barely had to wait a few minutes to take the lead as Faisal grabbed the first in just the fourth minute.
Murshed doubled the lead in the 38th minute while after the breather it was Mirajul who scored the remaining three in the 74th, 77th and 90th minutes in the one-sided affair.
Earlier, Bangladesh got off to a flying start as they thumped the hosts 5-1 in their opening Group A match last Monday.
A total of six teams - hosts Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangladesh, defending champions India, Nepal and Bhutan - split into two groups, are taking part in the regional tournament.
The top two teams from each group will play the semis this Monday while the grand finale is slated for next Wednesday.
All the matches will be held at Racecourse International Stadium.
